


Two wrongs make a right

by musicismagic



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Hurt Tony Stark, Kidnapping, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Psychological Torture, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2018-12-07 19:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11630793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicismagic/pseuds/musicismagic
Summary: Tony is kidnapped and held hostage and his friends fight to rescue him.He's surprised by just how many friends he still has.Just a note to say that this may no longer go in a Stony direction as the plot bunnies are dragging me elsewhere. Please be advised that the tags may change as the story goes on and I am clearer on the direction of the story. At this point I'm as clueless as anyone else which way this shit is gonna go!!!





	1. Day 1 - 11pm

**Author's Note:**

> Word of warning!  
> I am and always will be Team Tony!!! So for many of you this might mean that Steve sounds a little OOC.  
> I will never be convinced that Steve ever had a reason for not signing the Accords other than "I do what I want".  
> And yet, despite me having a seriously strong hate on for Steve Rogers by the end of CA:CW, I still can't get this pairing out of my head!
> 
> I've done my best to make this fit into Movie canon as much as possible, but I have to admit I have only watched CA:CW twice because it actually hurts me to see how badly my poor darling Tony is treated by everyone (even Widow, who is my personal fucking badass heroine!). I also have a massive hate on for Clint Barton because of his "Don't be Tonys friend or he'll get your back broken" line. I mean, seriously, that is fucking LOW! So I might make him a bit douchier than he actually is in the MCU simply as my own petty sort of revenge. In comic canon he's awesome! And I love Jeremy Renner! And he delivered that line so well that now I hate the character! One that I loved for years! But Grrrrr, I'm still not over it.
> 
> And before anyone comments; Yes, I do know that I take the lives of these fictional characters far too seriously but I love them (even the ones I hate) so fight me!!
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this if you can. I will try to upload a chapter each week, but I can be a bit sporadic with my writing thanks to my two tiny monsters determined to destroy everything now that the school holidays are here and they are stuck at home with mummy!

Tony walked back into his penthouse bedroom in the tower for the first time in 37 hours. He was exhausted in a way that only mind numbingly boring corporate meetings and press conferences could do for him. It had been three days since Peter had turned down his offer for a full time place on the Avengers, surprising him but making him very proud in the process. His ears were still ringing from the phone call he had shared with May not long after her finding Peter in the suit, but he was pleased to know that she now knew the young heroes secret and was, largely, supportive of it.

 

Tony was stripping his clothes and heading towards the shower when he heard the buzzing. He paused in the motion of removing his shirt, debating whether to just ignore it and get in the shower. He had never managed to ignore it before, and now was no different. He stepped towards the bedside table, swiping his thumb on the hidden sensor that kept the secret drawer locked to everyone but him. He pulled out the ancient brick of a phone and saw "5 new text messages" on the screen.

 

He opened his inbox and scrolled to the earliest new message.

 

SR: So the kid didn't join the Avengers then? Want to talk? (yesterday @ 17.56)

SR: Is that because you didn't ask or because he decided not to? (yesterday @ 19:08)

SR: Are you ever going to respond to me? (yesterday @ 23:42)

SR: I know you hate me, but you should know I'm still here if you need me. (Today @ 00:23)

SR: Just one message to let me know you're ok? (Today @ 22:21)

 

Tony scrolled all the way back to the first message he'd ever received, sent almost a year ago shortly after the phone had been delivered.

 

SR: Tony. I want you to know I meant what I said in the letter. I'm always here if you need me. I don't want our friendship to end like this. Please stay in touch. Steve

 

Tony hadn't replied, too consumed with grief and anger to even consider it. Nor had he responded to any of the 232 messages he had received since then. And he had no intention of responding to these either. He closed the phone, noticed the battery was looking a bit low so plugged it in to charge, then went and had a shower.

 

When he was finished in the shower he wrapped himself in an indulgently fluffy bathrobe and padded out into the living room to pour himself a glass of scotch. He took it back to his room with him and set it on the bedside table. He dressed himself in a pair of soft cotton pyjama bottoms and a black AC/DC t-shirt before sliding into bed.

 

As he sat resting against the headboard, scotch in one hand and stark tab in the other, he began the process of switching his brain off so he could sleep. Tony was a genius. There was no one on earth, no matter how much they hated him, that could deny that fact. With his genius came a mind filled with thoughts that swirled and swooped and spiralled, weaving new ideas with his every waking moment. Learning to silence his mind had been an easy task when he was young, just give him alcohol, drugs or sex and he'd be comatose in a matter of minutes. Then came the exhausting and draining effect of working on the armour, when he realised how much more he could give if he focussed his talents in a different direction. Now he was trying something new. Rather than working himself into exhaustion and then sprawling out on one of the workshop tables, he was trying to sleep normally, like the grown assed adult that his years, if not his actions, proved him to be.

 

Over the last few months he had begun trying to sleep in his bed more often than in the workshop or on Rhodeys sofa. He had learnt that a glass of scotch, a piece of harmless erotic fan fiction and  a quick Sudoku puzzle were what it took to settle the tumultuous storm of his mind into a gentle ebb and flow that allowed for sleep to overtake him. So that had become his nightly ritual.

 

He had just finished a piece of Destiel fanfiction and drained the last of his scotch when the tower was shaken by an explosion.

 

A second explosion hit before the shockwave of the first had even had chance to dissipate, and a series of smaller, but resounding thuds told him someone was unleashing major artillery on the tower.

 

Without conscious thought, Tonys arm flung out to receive the gauntlet that was already flying to him. As the armour snapped and whirred itself into place on his body, he began calling out for information.

 

"Friday, what's the situation?"

 

"Tower is under attack, boss. RPG just hit the west window of floor 17 and there is an attack chopper firing armour piercing 10mm rounds at the east window of the 27th floor. There is a small contingent of men with a mix of automatic and semi-automatic weaponry trying to infiltrate the elevator banks on the ground floor, but I am unable to detect exact numbers as they are using a combination of smoke, heat and light grenades to mask their signatures from both the visual and heat sensing cameras."

 

Tony was fully enclosed in the suit when Friday finished speaking, striding out to the flight deck ready to take off. But the second he stepped outside he was hit by a barrage of machine gun fire. The armour piercing rounds were not quite adequate to get through his suit, but Tony felt every hit like a toddlers punch to his body. He lifted off almost instantly to get out of range of fire.

 

"Sir, on your six."

 

Tony span in mid-air at Fridays alert, but the second chopper began firing and he was forced to evade another stream of gunfire.

 

As he circled the building in a corkscrew motion he saw explosions from inside his tower, glass being blow out onto the, thankfully, empty sheets below.

 

"Friday, running commentary please."

 

Friday talked as Tony flew, trying to stay out of firing range of the scarily agile choppers whilst looking for an opening to bring them down without them careening into his beloved tower.

 

"There are men on the 2nd, 5th, 17th and 19th floors. They're hitting every server room in the building and setting explosions sir. I'm currently uploading all data that is being held on Tower only servers to the secure StarkCloud storage area, however at the current rate of upload they may have destroyed the final server 12 minutes before I have been able to back up all files."

 

"Prioritise all new armour upgrades, anything related to the Avengers suit or weapons improvements and the designs for the new starkphone and tab. Ditch all personal records and all S.H.I.E.L.D files as they should be housed on their own servers already. Woah!"

 

Tony had to shoot directly upwards to avoid another hail of bullets, and his left boot took damage.

 

"Left stabiliser at 71% of peak efficiency and falling, boss. That last hit damaged the coolant system."

 

"Yep, got that. What is the upload time now, given their rate of ascent."

 

"There's still a six minute deficit, boss."

 

"Is there anyone, other than our uninvited guests, still in the building?"

 

"No, sir. The tower was on skeleton staff following Moving Day and all that were present have evacuated."

 

"Excellent. What floor is the highest group on now?"

 

"23rd floor, north east corner."

 

"Time to greet them personally."

 

Tony flew once more around the building, deliberately allowing the lead chopper to take aim and begin firing before he darted upwards. As the hail of bullets hit the window on the north east corner of the 23rd floor, Tony flung himself at the weakened glass and crashed into the server room. There were 6 men in the room placing charges and they all straightened at the crashing sound of Iron Man diving through the window. 6 guns were trained on him in a second but three of the goons were down before anyone even got a shot off, the next three after only a brief blitz of fire.

 

"Boss!" The sound of almost fear in Fridays automated voice was enough to shock him and his head shot up.

"I'm detecting additional charges set around the building. The server attacks were a distraction. They're trying to bring down the tower."

 

Before Fridays final word had finished, bullets started flying into the room from outside. Both choppers had positioned themselves at opposite ends of the smashed window and were releasing a crossed stream of fire into the room. Tony had nowhere to hide, and each progressive strike felt harder and harder against his already abused suit.

 

A series of bangs sounded all around him, louder even than the gunfire assaulting him, and for a brief moment he was weightless as the floor below gave way. Quickly realising there was no way his suit would protect him from the tower falling on him, he flew out through the window into the path of the two ships gunmen. As he was hit from front and back he accelerated as fast as his damaged suit could manage and flew vertically upwards.

 

He felt the jolt as something gripped his left boot, then the second as something closed round his right boot. The third and fourth  grapples took both his arms and began to reel him into a taught, spread-eagled position between the two choppers.

 

He increased the thrust to all of his repulsors, but it was no use. He was pretty effectively immobilised.

 

He watched, helpless, as his tower collapsed into a shifting heap of rubble, glass and girders. He waited for the choppers to move away, but they remained stationary, suspending him between them like some grotesque living puppet. The idea brought forward a memory of Ultron, dragging himself into the common room of the tower singing that song from Pinocchio in his alarmingly human sounding voice, and Tony had to force down the additional jolt of fear that memory brought up.

 

He saw the river of blue lights flowing towards him from all directions, but it took a few more moments before he could hear the sirens over the sounds of chopper blades. Despite the arrival of the authorities, the choppers still didn't move away. He knew himself that the NYPD chopper took 7 minutes to get airborne and a further 4 minutes to reach his part of the city, so it was unlikely air support would be arriving soon.

 

Only when the slew of police cars and fire trucks had reached the remains of the tower and began to park did something happen.

 

A voice blared from a set of loudspeakers secured under each chopper.

 

"We have Tony Stark. We want $50million by 18:00 tomorrow or he dies. We have the Iron Man armour. That will cost you $1billion. Or we sell to the highest bidder."

 

Something was shot at the chestplate of the armour before an enormous electrical shock surged through his body and Tony Stark knew no more.

From the ground, the police and the media that had managed to make it to the scene watched in horror as the Iron Man suit was hauled into one of the choppers and they flew away into the night.

 

*****

SR: Just one message to let me know you're ok?

 

Steve stared down at the phone in his hand. He'd woken this morning hoping that Tony would have fially replied, but again. There was nothing.

 

It had been almost a year since what the media had dubbed the "Avengers Civil War". A year since he had gained his oldest friend and lost some of his newest.

237 unanswered messages had been sent to Tony, and Steve was beginning to lose hope that he would ever get that particular friend back. He hadn't really been close with Vision or Colonel Rhodes and Natasha had been in touch with him since the airport fight to say they were cool, but the loss of Tony was one that cut deep. It had been a bit of a shock to him just how deeply Tonys loss was hurting him.

 

Their friendship had been an odd one, filled with banter and jokes and snark. Any meaningful conversations had been held in the depths of exhaustion, either in Tonys lab after a four day inventing bender or in the common room of the tower where Steve liked to sit and look out over the New York skyline after a nightmare of ice and metal graves. They had talked of the war, Steves memories of Howard and the other Commandos, the cave in Afghanistan, the aches in Tonys chest where the Arc Reactor used to be. They spoke of Pepper and Peggy and the loves they both felt they could never have; Tony because of his Tony-ness and Steve because of his Steve-ness. Their tendency to be work-a-holics, devoted to a cause even at the cost of their own health and their willingness to break the rules to meet their goals. They were so alike in so many ways. But they were different enough to keep each other on their toes.

 

As another fifteen, twenty and then twenty-five minutes went by without a reply, Steves loneliness grew.

 

Scott Lang had made his way back to his family almost immediately after being liberated from the raft. Steve had warned him that he'd be a fugitive, but Scott was convinced that, as long as he could get back to Hank, he'd be able to hide. Steve hadn't heard anything about Ant-Man being caught by the authorities, and neither had T'Challa, so he could only guess that Scotts plan had worked.

 

Himself, Bucky, Clint and Wanda were all fugitives from the USA but had thankfully been taken in by T'Challa, the now King of Wakanda. However, despite the fact that he had friends here with him in a beautiful country with a gracious host, he had never felt more alone.

 

Bucky had gone into the cryo chamber within a month of their arrival in Wakanda. The pain of his memories and the fear of all he could be capable of making him desperate for the blissful ignorance of frozen sleep.

 

Clint had lost his family, and though bringing them to Wakanda had been suggested, both Clint and T'Challa believed it to be far too risky for everyone involved. As a result, Clint had thrown himself into training some of the Wakandan Armys most elite in sharp shooting. Every day the archer worked himself into exhaustion, ate dinner in the mess with his trainees and then fell into bed before starting again the next day. He would always have a smile for Steve, but it never reached his eyes and Steve saw more each day the pain that he was feeling being away from his loving wife and children.

 

Wanda had begged for her own space, a place where she could go to meditate and heal away from civilisation. Wakanda had plenty of spaces suitable and so T'Challa had given her the keys to one of his own rural escapes and told her that there would be visits once a week with supplies and a counsellor. She accepted his hospitality and conditions with grace and left the main royal compound only 2 days after arriving. From brief snippets he could gather it sounded as though she was speaking to her counsellor and was beginning to accept her grief at the loss of her brother and then her first love, but she was not ready to return to the others.

 

Sam had stayed with Steve. He missed his home, the veterans he had been supporting and the freedom to fly whenever he wanted, but he had adjusted well to his new life in Wakanda. He trained with the kings guard during the day and during the evenings they would watch movies, or spar, or dine with the king. Sam did everything he could to keep Steves spirits up, but it was a tough task to take on alone. Steve was grateful that Sam even tried.

 

He did his best to fill his days. Either training with T'Challas army, or running through the beautiful and dense forest around the royal compound, or sitting somewhere and drawing the beautiful land around him. But his mind so often returned to New York. He had taken to sleeping with his phone clutched in his hand, hoping desperately for some kind of message from the only person that had its number.

 

His need for Tony to respond was more than just needing to hear from Tony. He wanted so badly to know that there was even the slightest chance of one day being allowed to return home. To once again don the mantle of Captain America and protect the world from threats to their very way of life.

 

But it was also about being able to have the opportunity to apologise. To Clint and Sams families for taking them away for so long, even if at the time he had believed it was for the right reasons. To Vision for causing the rift between him and Wanda that he dearly hoped they would be able to heal. To Colonel Rhodes for the damage to his back. It may have been caused by friendly fire but Steve knew he was most of the reason that fight had ever taken place.

 

And finally to Tony. For not seeing how hard he'd been working to keep the Avengers together. For the work he had been doing on their equipment, paying for damages, handling their press and (mostly) keeping the politicians off their backs. But most of all, he wanted to apologise for keeping the secret of his parents murder to himself. He saw now how wrong he was to do that.

 

Their parting in Siberia had hurt him so badly. Seeing Tony, with his repulsors still working but not firing as he lay below Steves shield. Refusing to fire even though he was only seconds from being murdered with his fathers creation. He had still been trying to keep Steve alive even when Steve was trying to kill him. That more than anything had stopped him from delivering the fatal blow. And it had almost stopped his heart when he realised that he would have killed Tony, in the heat of battle. He dropped the shield as he'd walked away, would have done regardless of Tonys parting words.

 

Steve shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard Sam run into the room.

 

"Man, you gotta see this" he said, switching on the TV and turning to one of the 24 hour news channels.

 

"…following the collapse of Stark Tower. The ransom demand for Tony Starks life was set to the value of $50million, while the separate demand for the return of the Iron Man armour was $1billion. The President has made it clear that the United States Government does not negotiate with terrorists, however the extreme military threat that could be posed by anyone who manages to acquire the Iron Man armour has people asking…"

 

Sam muted the TV and turned to Steve, who was barely containing the shaking in his hands.

 

"I heard it from one of the Kings guards. The Tower was attacked about 3 hours ago, completely collapsed. Two choppers flew off, taking Tony in the suit with them. The choppers were found half an hour later at an airfield but five planes took off within minutes of each other straight after, all with different headings and all going international. They tracked two of the planes to private airfields in Mexico and Canada but there were an additional three flights that left from each of those airfields at the same time 10 minutes later. Whoever took him certainly knew how to cover their tracks."

 

Steve was only half listening to Sam as he watched the now muted footage of the collapse of Stark Tower and the electric shock that took out the suit with Tony still in it.

 

"So, Stark in trouble again huh?"

 

Clints voice caused Sam and Steve to spin around. The archer was leaning in the doorway in his Wakandan Army uniform.

 

"Looks like." Sam replied when Steve simply stared.

 

Clint opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the kings guard entering, flanking T'Challa. His eyes flicked to the TV screen, seeing the footage of the tower collapse running again.

 

"So you have seen the news. Tony Stark is in trouble. There is a meeting of the UN being called right now to discuss the issue of the ransom demand and the consequences of the armour falling into the wrong hands. Colonel Rhodes and the remaining Avengers are currently on standby until a course of action can be determined."

 

This got Steve spluttering into life. "Wait, what?! Tonys been taken and the Avengers are on standby? Why aren't they already moving?"

 

"There is some concern that this could be a trap to get hold of the other Avengers. Also, with the War Machine armour the only potential countermeasure against the Iron Man suit, it is currently thought best to keep that as far away from hostile hands as possible. I am leaving to join the UN meeting, but before I leave I wanted to assure you that I for one will be supporting both a rescue mission and the paying of the ransom. There is no limit to the value of Tony Stark, or the value of keeping Iron Man out of the hands of those that would threaten the peaceful world."

 

T'Challa turned and left without another word, leaving Steve reeling.

 

"This is exactly why those accords should never have been signed. They can't even launch a rescue mission without approval from the UN! And how quickly are they going to get that! Tony could be dead by the time they're even gathered!"

 

"So what are we gonna do?" Sam asked, turning to Steve with the look of a soldier waiting for orders.

 

Clint seemed to have other ideas. "Wait a minute? What are we gonna do? Stark is half the reason I'm stuck here, thousands of miles from my wife and kids as a damn criminal. And we're just going to drop everything and go running just because Stark's made himself another enemy?"

 

"Stark is not the reason you're here, Clint, and you know it. Ross and the politicians are the reason you’re here. And you know that, despite everything, he'd be there if it was you on the line."

 

Clint snapped his mouth shut, seeming to understand that arguing right now was pointless. But the look on his face said that there was no way he was letting this drop.

 

"I'm with you, Steve," Sam said, breaking the tension "but what do we do."

 

Steve started moving towards the computer.

 

"First, we need to reach Nat."

 

*****

 

"Friday, action hostile takeover protocol authorisation Whiskey Mike Romeo Oscar X-ray six eight and alert the other avengers they're needed." Rhodey practically yelled at the ceiling as he wheeled himself into the common room. Of the Avengers compound.

 

Vision floated into the room only seconds later, shortly followed by Maria Hill and Black Widow. It was barely 00.30 so Rhodey wasn't surprised that none of his fellow Avengers were asleep yet.

 

"What's all the commotion, Colonel?" Maria asked sitting on the couch next to Vision and stuffing a whole cookie in her mouth.

 

Rhodes just held up his hand and everyone fell silent. A few seconds later, Friday answered.

 

"Hostile takeover protocol active Colonel Rhodes. All command overrides have been transferred to yourself and Ms Potts. How can I help?"

 

"Friday, display the events in Stark Tower from 22:51 this evening, real time including audio."

 

"Yes, colonel."

 

The team watched on as the chaotic events of the evening played out in front of them. The attack had been organised to a truly terrifying degree of accuracy and with a finesse worthy of Widow herself, as the tower was brought down and Tony stolen away in less than 6 minutes of action.

 

Nat spoke first. "Any leads?"

 

"Choppers tracked to a private airfield outside of the city, but five international flights took off within 10 minutes of the choppers landing. All with different flight paths, different destinations, crew and passenger logs and all booked through legitimate companies on paper, although the trail is being investigated now."

 

"Stark piss anyone new off recently?"

 

"He's Tony Stark!?! But he has been flying pretty low under the radar lately. Aside from the press conference last week to reintroduce Pepper as the CEO once more following her hiatus, he hasn't really been doing too much to piss anyone off. Charity work, designing new gear, new SI stuff. So unless Apple or Samsung have decided they're sick of him one-upping them every time they bring out a new model, I'm guessing it's a simple ransom/terrorist we want Iron Man thing."

 

"So what's our next move?" Maria asked, mouth now thankfully devoid of chocolate cookie.

 

"Friday, we need to you to start looking through the feeds from the tower, everything before you went offline. Try and find us a face, a snippet of conversation, anything that might give a clue about these guys."

 

"On it, Colonel"

 

"Nat, we need to know of anyone that has made overtures towards the armour and might have the chops to pull this off. A group this organised with enough money to charter jets, buy in choppers and get access to the specs for the Tower must have made some waves somewhere. Agent Hill, you provide tac support to Widow but be sure to have the QuinJet ready to fly when the time comes. Vision…."

 

Rhodey stopped when Friday interrupted him.

 

"Colonel Rhodes, General Ross is on the phone with orders, shall I put the visual through to the table or put him on hold?"

 

Rhodey rubbed his eyes and muttered "well this can't be good" before responding to Friday. "Put him through to the table, Friday"

 

"Colonel Rhodes." General Ross' greeting was sharp.

 

"General. How can I help you?" Rhodey replied, pulling on the respectful officer face that none but Tony had ever really been able to break.

 

"You are to stand down all Avengers action to retrieve Tony Stark until the UN convene and a course of action can be determined. No rescue mission is to be conducted without UN approval and no military resources are to be used to investigate this occurrence until the UN have reached their decision. Am I clear?"

 

Rhodeys mask didn't slip for a second. Even Nat was secretly slightly awed.

 

"Understood General Ross. When is the UN due to convene?"

 

"Calls are being put out right now and the call is for either personal or video representation here in Washington at 10.00 hours tomorrow morning."

 

Nat, Maria and Vision all opened their mouths to speak but Rhodey silenced them with a subtle raise of his finger not visible to Ross.

 

"Understood, Sir. Is Avengers support or participation required at the meeting?"

 

"No. None of you will be required. Just sit tight until we have orders."

 

"Roger, General, understood."

 

Ross glared through the camera at Rhodes for almost 5 seconds before shaking his slightly and ending the call.

 

"Right, as I was saying, Vision, I need you to look into the five flights that left the airport and look for any information or patterns that might give us a clue which of those flights we need to follow."

 

Vision frowned "Didn't you just agree that you would do no investigating without permission?"

 

"No, I agreed we wouldn't launch a rescue mission without UN approval and that we would not pursue any leads using military resources. Right now, we're using SI and Avengers resources, totally different thing! Now get moving."

 

Maria and Nat just smirked as they left to start work, while Vision began pulling up information on the Holo-table. Rhodey moved off towards his rooms to put on the exo-legs. If Tony needed his help then there was no way in hell he was staying in the chair.


	2. Day 2 - 3am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my poor baby! I'm so sorry for doing this to you!
> 
> You know I love you!

Tony regained consciousness slowly. His body ached all over, his muscles feeling like they'd been shortened by an inch while he was sleeping. He was sore, bruised and had a headache that rivaled his top 10 hangovers combined.

When he was a little closer to awake than sleeping, he began to take in the state of his body beyond the pain. His wrists and ankles were bound, pulling him into a tight spread eagle, and he was lay on something hard, damp and cold. Almost as soon as the realisation hit, he began to shiver, causing an increased ache in his already very sore muscles. His hearing was muffled, but he couldn't feel anything covering his face or head so could only guess at some sort of percussion injury to his ears. When he opened his eyes he found they were blurry and dry.

He had no way of telling how long he had been unconscious, and the stretch of his limbs meant that, even exerting every ounce of strength he had, the only part of him he could move was his head.

He realised now that he was lay on a metal operating table that had been modified to have sides at least a meter deep. All he could see to the side of him was shiny, reflective metal and above was a stone hewed ceiling. He was essentially in a large, metal coffin. The feeling of dampness came from the water dripping periodically from the rocks above and landing a few centimeters from his left ear. The drip had obviously been there a while as it was creating a small puddle which was beginning to seep into the fabric of his favourite AC/DC t-shirt.

And suddenly he remembered everything. The realisation that he was wearing only his t-shirt and pyjama bottoms had his heart rate ratcheting up to alarming levels. Where was the armour? And how in the hell had they got him out of it? Whoever 'they' were. Tony could feel the panic building. The suit had always been his refuge when he felt out of control, and now it was gone and he was defenseless. He tried to regulate his breathing, but it was no use. He was hyperventilating and straining against his bonds desperately, but the lack of properly oxygen filled breaths soon cost him, and his struggle slowed as he was dragged back to unconsciousness.

Tony came around again, the situation largely unchanged, except that now he was no longer damp but fully wet. The dripping had increased while he was out and it was now a steady 'plink, plink, plink, plink' almost every second. After a while, he knew, the sound would drive him mad, but for now it was something to ground him and help him control his breathing. Count the drips and breath, in for five then out for five.

When he'd been awake for what he thought was about half an hour he heard footsteps.

There was a loud metallic squeal as a door outside of his field of vision opened.

A man stepped into view, leaning over the metal box and resting his arms casually on the sides. He was mid 50s with blonde hair, greying at the temples, blue eyes and a grin that twisted his mouth thanks to a scar to the right of his cupids bow.

"Mr Stark. You're awake."

Tony just lay there staring at his guest, unsure whether a response was required to the non-question. Instead, he simply raised an eyebrow.

"Hungry?" The stranger asked.

"A little." he replied, since that had actually been a question.

"Cold?"

"Yes."

"Good" the man turned and walked back the way he had come "See you soon, Mr Stark." he said as the door squeaked shut again.

Tony simply went back to counting drips and breaths.

When he awoke for the third time fear gripped him almost immediately. The water coming from the ceiling was no longer dripping but a steady stream and it was beginning to lap at his sides where it was gradually deepening. He felt his breathing cut off and the phantom pressure of shards of glass and metal cutting through his torso as he remembered Afghanistan. Having his head dunked in water repeatedly, not knowing what his captors wanted. Or even if they were making demands at that point or just trying to weaken him.

The memories forced tears from his eyes that slid down his cheeks and dripped into the pooling, freezing water surrounding him. He could no longer feel his fingers or toes, his buttocks were completely numb and he needed desperately to urinate. The fear of deepening the water around him was warring with the pain of holding his bladder, and he knew that if he fell asleep again he would likely piss himself. But the cold was too difficult to ignore now. His shivering was so strong that his wrists and ankles were chaffing against his bonds and the bone deep weariness that came with the cold dragged him back into unconsciousness before even an hour had passed. Not even reciting the original code for DUM-Es operating system was enough to keep him awake.

The fourth time he awoke he finally called out. He'd been mostly silent, but for his responses to Short, Blonde and Creepy and a little muttering of formulae. But now he was screaming.

He had to lift his head to keep his mouth above the water and the strain on his neck was causing his head to pound.

"Help! HELP! Oh God. Help! Please!"

Tonys voice was strained and the water was deepening at an alarming rate. He sucked in a breath as the water level rose above his mouth and began to cover his nose. His eyes were burning with tears as his lungs began to protest their harsh treatment. His vision started to turn black. This was it, he knew. When he lost consciousness this time, he'd breath in, a natural reflex, and he'd drown. He began to exhale, the names of all the people he cared for running on a loop in his head - Pepper, Rhodey, Vision, Steve, Peter, Nat, Maria, Clint, Coulson, Fury, Sam - and just as he slipped into unconsciousness he felt the whole world sway as the table he was lay on was flipped vertically and the water poured away.

Not quickly enough, though, as Tonys oxygen starved mind once again gave in to the darkness.

The next time when he woke it was to heat. Dry and sweltering. His hands and legs were tied to a chair and his head was covered. He could hear voices speaking in a language he couldn't understand and smell burning fabric and oil and flesh.

As the hood was torn from his head and he came face to face with a video camera and the deep orange rock of an Afghan cave, he recognised his nightmare.

*****

The security team watched from the observation room as Stark twitched and trembled in his restraints.

Dr Maddox entered the observation room, his greying blonde hair glowing in the red tinged light of the bunker. He lifted the phone from its cradle and dialled.

"Phase one is complete, Ma'am. We have moved into phase two and induced REM sleep. Dr Jonas is monitoring the dreamscape and will begin direction once optimum parameters have been reached."

There was a brief silence as Dr Maddox listened to the response before he gave a quick "Yes, Ma'am" and hung up the phone.

Although most of the guards were hardened to the torture that had been taking place at this base for the last half decade, the look of gleeful rage on Maddox face was enough to make more that one of them feel immensely glad that they were not Tony Stark.


	3. Day 2 - 8am NY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting the band back together is pretty complicated given all the bad feeling still lurking in some quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this one is pretty short and very dialogue heavy. But it's things that need to happen before they can save my precious Tony!
> 
> There's also a tiny little bit of HulkWidow sneaking into this chapter, and possibly the rest of the fic, but it's going to be so background I'm not sure if I should even bother tagging it.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Rhodes. I have scanned through every available piece of footage and audio and there is no usable information to help with the search for Mr Stark."

Despite the fact that she was only an AI, Rhodey could hear the disappointment and sadness in Fridays voice.

They had been working for close to nine hours with no leads. Nat and Maria had gone to catch some sleep at around 4am with the promise that Rhodey would wake them if there was news and that they could be armed and ready to go within minutes if they were needed.

Rhodey had also slept, if only fitfully, for a few hours but he was now awake and waiting for any news from the UN or Vision.

As the only member of the team that didn't need sleep, Vision had been working through the night to try and trace all of the possible locations where Tony could have been taken. They knew from what was left of SHIELD where 2 of the five flights from the NYC airfield had ended up (one in Mexico and one in Canada) but unfortunately a further three flights had departed from each of those airports within moments of the tracked flights landing. Vision had been able to trace another two of the flights - one to France and one to the UK - but the same was true there. Guessing that the same would be true of the last missing flight, Vision found an airport just outside Johannesburg where an international flight had landed and moments later another three flights had taken off. That meant that, in total, they had 15 flights to try and track, assuming that they had even got onto another flight and not just set up decoys and were hiding out somewhere near any of the first set of airfields.

For just a second, Rhodey let despair wash over him. His best friend was missing, possibly being tortured. Despite what most people thought - that Rhodey was friends with Tony in spite of Tonys crazy ways - Tonys sense of humour, his ability to do 20 things at once and still outshine everyone in a room, the fact he could either piss off or charm anyone he met depending on his mood, were all things that Rhodey loved about the guy. His life would be so much less without Tony in it. The Air Force had taught him to hold himself with dignity, to hide his emotions and carry out orders and basically be a good officer. But just because he didn't show it didn't mean he wasn't internally in hysterics at Tonys antics.

The thought that he might not have that anymore felt like something reaching into his chest and crushing his heart.

Fortunately, he was dragged out of his negative thoughts by a banging on the compound door.

Rhodey stood, the whirring sound of his exo-legs a surprising comfort, a reminder of what Tony was capable of when faced with a problem he wanted to solve.

He opened the door and nearly choked when he saw who was on the other side.

"Bruce?" he said in disbelief, staring at the scientist in front of him. He'd be conspicuously missing during the battle over Accords, even though Rhodey knew that Tony had called him and asked for his help.

"Any leads? Any news?" he asked, forgoing any greeting as he strode into the compound and threw his ragged jacket onto the couch.

Rhodey shut the door and walked towards the pacing scientist.

"No leads. We've been working since it happened but they were good, really good. Left no traces and covered their tracks so well we could be scrambling for weeks to track down all the flights they could have taken or all of the places they could be. Vision is working on it. He's following every lead he can find. Nat has been calling in every favour she's got trying to find out if there have been any whispers of anything big, but she's scraping the bottom of her barrel of contacts and they've all had nothing for us. We've got the jet fuelled and all our kit stowed ready to go as soon as we get any word, but for now we don’t have any idea where he is or why he was taken. No one from the DoD will answer my calls and tell me if any bank details have been provided for the ransom demand, and the UN should be meeting any minute to decide if they even want to pay the ransom or let us mount a rescue mission."

"LET US? LET US MOUNT A RESCUE?" Bruce practically shouted, his fists clenched and his skin beginning to turn a faint green colour before Bruce wrested back control of himself with a visible shudder.

Rhodey stepped forward, reaching his arms out to gently hold Bruces biceps, knowing (thanks to Tony) that he sometimes needed a touch to ground him when his control was thin. He was rewarded with a hard gust of breath and a definite re-pinking of Bruces skin.

"We are investigating every lead, and believe me, I'm going after Tony whether we get UN approval or not, but we have to consider the consequences of whether this is a trap. They could want you and the Hulk formula. Or me and War Machine. Or Nat or Vision. We have to let the people that are not emotionally invested in this make some of the decisions. Then, if we disagree, we can still go in, but we'll go in knowing we're alone and what the consequences could be."

Bruce was a logical and rational guy when he wasn't Hulking out, and he knew the truth of Rhodeys words. But it still pained him not to be able to rush to his friends aid.

Bruce took a moment to look the Colonel over. Rhodes was still stood pretty close in his personal space, gripping his biceps and controlling his breathing very carefully, as though trying to provide comfort through just the sound of his breath and the thrumming of the pulse in his fingers. It was something he had heard people being recommended to do when they were close to someone with PTSD or anxiety; helping to provide an unconscious role model to help get breathing under control. The colonel looked haggard, his eyes lined in a way they had never seemed in previous encounters, and he seemed taller. Bruces attention was taken by the exo-legs, clearly of Tonys design, and felt himself calming even further.

It was clear to him, just on first sight, that the legs were a work of engineering art. Designed specifically for Rhodes with so much care and attention to detail that it made his chest clench. This was Tonys best friend. And he was having to comfort Bruce while probably only barely holding it together himself. Tony was Bruces best friend, probably the only person who had ever considered him with simple scientific curiosity rather than as a potential threat or weapon, but he sometimes forgot that he was not Tonys best friend. That accolade belonged to Colonel James Rhodes. The man clearly leading the charge to find him. And Bruce was damn well going to do everything he could to help.

Bruce opened his mouth to try and vocalise some of his internal musings when he was interrupted by a voice calling down the corridor.

"Hey, Rhodey….." Nat stopped in the doorway and stared for a second before continuing to move forward "Got something you're gonna want to see."

She swiped a hand on her Stark tablet, and the face of none other than Captain America himself was thrown onto the projection screen.

Rhodey instantly let go of Bruce and took two sharp strides towards the screen.

"The fuck do you want?" he spat. Gone was the control he had shown for Bruce. Here was the incredibly pissed off best friend facing down the person he blamed for breaking said best friend.

"Stand down, Colonel, I only want to help" Steve replied, the tiniest hint of a bite in his voice.

"You want to help? You want to help? Okay, you can help. By fucking off. I don't want or need your help. And neither does Tony you selfish backstabbing bastard." Rhodey swiped his hand across the screen in a motion that would normally have cut the call, but Steves face was still up.

"Sorry Rhodey, but I've got control of the call and we could use all hands on deck here if we're gonna get Tony back alive." Nat said, finally stepping forward and standing to Rhodeys right. Vision had also stepped into the room, positioning himself to Rhodeys left, the three of them facing the screen as a united front. Bruce stepped in without hesitation, moving to stand beside Nat and accidentally brushing the back of her hand with his.

Her eyes darted to his face and away again in a split second, but he stayed stoic. They'd need to talk, but that could wait.

"Captain Rogers. Do you have any information that could help us at this time?" Vision asked, direct and to the point. Steve had been staring at Rhodey ever since his tirade, but quickly shifted his gaze to Vision when the android spoke.

"No. We're not limited for resources but getting information has been tricky with T'Challa at the UN summit."

"We?" Nat asked, voice carefully neutral.

"Hey, Nat!" Clint said with a small wave as he stood behind Steve. Nats smile was tiny, but it was definitely there. She was clearly relieved to see her old buddy.

"Good to see you too, Sam" Rhodes responded with a small nod of the head "But we don't really have time for pleasantries. If we get a location on Tony how quickly can you guys get stateside?"

"Seven hours flying time, I'm afraid. We've been given one of T'Challas royal jets so border control getting out of Wakanda is a cinch but what we do when we get where we're going will need to be a little more creative."

"Well, you're closer to some of the European locations than we are. Can you start heading for Berlin, might be a good idea for you to be in the air asap. We can always change the flight path if needed."

"Agreed, Colonel. We'll head for Berlin, be wheels up in 20. Nat has a secure number for me and I'll be sure to keep that on at all times so you can reach us with updates. Good luck" and Steve ended the call.

The group let out a collective breath. Rhodey turned to Bruce and offered to get him settled in a room, but it was Nat that stepped forward.

"I've got it Colonel. You need to be here in case the General calls."

Rhodey did not envy the guy. Having any kind of conversation with Nat after having abandoned her was going to be very painful.


	4. Day 2 - 8am Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise to start weaving the love story soon. I'm terrible for not getting to the emotional stuff until really late into a story, but I'm trying hard this time to get you some emotion soon!
> 
> My plot bunnies just seem to run off and do what bunnies do, and then I end up trying to corrale many tiny plot bunnies into one story!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Tony knew he was in a nightmare. There were some things that the bad guys could never hope to replicate outside of his own mind. Things like the smell of his own burned flesh where the electromagnet was sunk in his chest, the taste of metal and electricity in the air, the agonising pain of shrapnel movement whenever he did something to short out the magnet for a moment, the way his balance was just slightly off thanks to the foreign presence, and the feel of the cave floor beneath his feet.

But mostly, it was Yinsen.

He was precisely how Tony remembered him. Kind, honest - except when he wasn't - , talented and most of all, comforting. A man whose family had been killed by Stark weapons, here trying to keep Tony alive. Trying to set him free so he could change his life, and the world, for the better.

And that was the pain he could not bear.

The pain of watching a truly good man die.

But it was replaying over and over and over again.

To begin with, he would go through the whole ordeal, from the moment he jumped in the 'Fun-vee' to the moment the armour took off away from the Ten Rings; but after a while it just became that moment. The moment Yinsen realised that the suit would not power up in time. The moment he picked up a weapon and gave his life to let Tony live.

After about the 30th time of watching, he had run out of tears to cry. He shouted in his own mind. Desperate to do anything to stop it from happening.

But he was stuck.

A captive audience in his own body. Able to hear his own words, feel his own body, but with no control over either.

He saw Yinsens light expire over and over and over. It was almost too much to bear.

When he watched Yinsens face go limp for the 52nd time, blackness overtook him once again. But, instead of waking up back in the cave, giving instructions on how to boot up the suit, he found himself piloting the mark II armour instead.

He was battered and bruised, running at less than 50% efficiency, and looking into the crazed eyes of someone he had looked up to almost as a father.

Obi, in his dark and fevered version of the suit, was terrifying to behold. The face was the same as it had always been, but the manic glow in his eyes was something feral and violent.

Tony was lost. About to be killed by his own creation. An ironic and tragic end after everything Yinsen had sacrificed to save him, his soul as well as his life.

He watched in horror as Obi fell into the Arc Reactor, knowing that he was the one responsible for the death of the man that had been by his side for nearly 20 years.

His vision faded to black, but then he was back. Staring once again into the eyes of a deranged Obi. Once again, having to watch him die knowing it was his creation that caused it.

And the nightmares kept coming. Complete situations to begin with, like the Chitauri invasion, the fight for New York, but gradually filtering down to the most horrifying, painful moment, his desperate fight for breath in the void of space. Then the worst moment would repeat and repeat and repeat, until all he had was pain.

Killians attack, watching Pepper fall into the fire.

Ultron, the guilt far more difficult to pin down than the single moments of terror in the other situations, but no less horrifying, no less soul destroying.

Then came Siberia, Caps shield held over his chest, waiting for blow that would kill him from a man he had looked up to, even grown to care for.

Watching Peter straining desperately to hold together the ferry, then the look of hurt and betrayal when he took the suit.

All of these, played on repeat in his mind, the most painful moments of his recent life played out in inescapable, glorious technicolour.

*****

The guards in the observation room watched on impassively as the great Tony Stark wept, struggled and screamed his way through whatever images were unfolding beneath his closed eyelids.

Despite the terrible emotional and mental torture they were witness to, by far the most chilling thing they had seen was the look in the eyes of Dr Maddox.

The short, blonde man was twiddling buttons on a small machine watching as a line spiked and dipped across the screen in front of him, scanning the brainwaves of the man he held captive. He seemed to be waiting for a moment of frenetic tremors on the screen, then he would draw it out mercilessly using whatever strange mix of magic and science his counterpart, Dr Jonas, was inflicting on the heavily restrained and sedated man.

The phone in the observation room began to ring, and the head guard stepped forward to answer it immediately.

"Yes, Ma'am? Certainly. I will do so immediately. Understood, Ma'am."

The head guard stepped out of the observation room and entered the laboratory seconds later, earning a scowl of displeasure from Dr Maddox. His face straightened when he heard the message, whatever it was, and he left the room, signalling to one of the lab assistants that they were to take his place at the console. Dr Jonas raised an eyebrow, but she was otherwise silent, turning back to observe as Stark shook and wept.

A moment later, the head guard re-entered the room, with Dr Maddox right behind him. Maddox picked up the phone and dialled. It could only have rung once before it was answered and Maddox began to speak.

"You asked to speak with me, Ma'am? Yes, we're working through the nightmares now. When the effect of one begins to weaken we move on to the next, pinpoint the most severe hi-beta wave response and then repeat that part of the nightmare until the effects begin to tail off and we begin again."

Maddox paused to listen, nodding his head as the person on the other end of the phone spoke.

"Yes, Ma'am. The suit is with the engineering team. As suspected, the failsafe system in the suit ejected Mr Stark when the internal temperature reached critical levels, however there was significant damage to the abdominal armour prior to the suit opening. The suit closed again immediately after ejecting Mr Stark, we believe this to be an improvement made since the initial discovery of the failsafe by AIM, but work is being done to dismantle the suit and begin reverse-engineering."

Silence again, this time stretching for far longer as Maddoxs' face became more and more strained.

"Yes, I understand the urgency, ma'am, however….."

Maddox cut himself off as the voice coming through the other end of the phone became louder. It was still impossible to hear what was being said, only that the person speaking was not happy.

"Certainly, ma'am. We'll advance the situation immediately. Moving into phase 2. Understood."

Maddox hung the phone up with a sigh, rubbing his temples before moving back into the laboratory.

"Everyone out." he commanded.

Personnel filed out of the room until it was only Maddox and Jonas left.

"We're ready for phase 2."

Dr Jonas removed her gloves to reveal grey, green and black marbled skin, fingernails the colours of an oil slick against the toxic look of her skin.

She hovered her hands above the dark, matted curls of her captive, and a flowing mist of green poured into Tonys head.

He slowly raised his head, eyes opening to reveal his usually deep chocolate brown irises to be ringed with green, and his face became void of all emotion.

As Jonas removed her hands the strain was instantly clear, her body teetering for a moment before she slumped against a metal table.

She turned to Maddox.

"He's remarkably strong, despite all we've done to weaken his emotional and mental control. If he fights me at all, I could lose my grip on him."

"Then we must hurry" Maddox said, releasing Tony from his restraints and helping Jonas to her feet.

The guards watched as Starks body was marched in front of his captors. The man known as Ironman reduced to a robot of flesh and bone.


	5. Day 2 - 10am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonys captors issue a demand, and Sam and Steve have a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! I am so sorry this took so long. I just couldn't get this chapter to feel right.  
> I'm still not 100% happy with it but I've reached a point where I just can't work on it anymore or I'll just loose my temper and delete the whole thing! It got me where I needed to be, but it's not great so if anyone has any comments on how they think I can improve it then I'd be very happy to hear them.
> 
> Also, I've gone back and re-named all the chapters with the day and time that each starts at because I felt it was getting a bit difficult to keep rack of what was happening when. All the times are based on time according to Tonys reckoning, so it doesn't really take timezones into account but it should make things a bit clearer.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos make me very happy, and I always try to take any criticism as a well meaning attempt to help me improve so feel free to tell me what doesn't work so well and I'll try and take the comments on board.

As he had promised, Steve, Sam and Clint were in a Wakandan stealth jet (thanks to T'Challa) and on their way to Berlin within half an hour. Clint was at the controls, setting their flight path, while Sam and Steve were sorting through their gear. It came as a surprise when Steves phone rang again so soon after their last contact with Nat and the Avengers. He answered the video call and saw Nat, her features far less composed than they had been 30 minutes ago.

"Nat"

"Steve, are you airborne?"

"Yeah, were on our way to Berlin now."

"You need to see this." Nats hand obscured the camera for a few moments before a video started playing on the screen.

On it was Tony. He was stood uncharacteristically straight and still, and his eyes had a sickly green aura around them that made Steve instantly think of magic.

When he spoke his voice lacked any of its usual warmth and pizzazz, and was instead flat and barely more than a whisper.

"My name is Tony Stark. The ransom for my life is $50million. Should you wish to see me alive again the money should be paid in full to the account number that is currently being delivered to UN member embassies across the world. The IronMan will cost you $1billion. You have until 10pm, that's 12 hours, or my body will be dropped onto the Whitehouse lawn and the IronMan will be sold to the highest bidder." There was a pause for a second as the camera zoomed out, showing an empty concrete walled room and revealing a second person on the screen.

"This is to demonstrate the resolve of my captors." Tony said, as he turned to face the masked person in the room with him. Steve jumped to his feet as the man in the mask lifted a knife and sliced a long line across Tonys chest. Tony didn't even flinch. He turned back to the camera, his torn t-shirt gradually soaking up the blood oozing from the new cut.

"12 hours" Tony intoned seconds before the video cut out.

 

Nat came back on the screen.

"It was definitely him?" Steve asked immediately, trying to keep his face neutral despite the rapid beating of his heart.

"Yep. Rhodey had Friday run every I.D. software Stark has and she confirmed it was him. Retinal pattern and scar pattern all match. Did you see what we saw?" She asked

"Green eyes. Magic" Steve replied.

"Yep. Bruce is speculating it's some kind of mind control so we're searching through records to see if S.H.I.E.L.D has come across anyone with that kind of power before."

"Ok, what about us. Still heading to Berlin?"

"Yes. One of the planes headed to France but there were a series of smaller flights from there that went to Finland, Italy and London. Berlin is a fairly central location in Europe, plus Rhodey still has some friends at one of the smaller private airfields and they're willing to help so you should get a few hours head start before anyone realises you're back. Keep to your present course and we'll be in touch if there's any update. At least for now we know he's still alive."

Nat hung up without saying goodbye, leaving Steve to stare at thin air for a few moments. Wordlessly, he moved into the cockpit to confer with Clint as a message popped up with the coordinates of the Berlin airport they were heading for.

Once he knew that they were on course, and that Clint was happy to keep the controls for the 7 hour flight, he moved back into the hold to face Sam.

"Hey man. You ok?" Sam asked, reaching a hand to Steves shoulder.

Steve could only 'Mmmmm Hmmmm' in response, trying to avoid eye contact with his ever perceptive friend.

He failed, as Sam ducked his head and moved in closer to almost fill Steves field of vision. The concern in Sams eyes was enough to shake the tight control Steve had been fighting to maintain, and he felt it as his eyes filled with moisture.

Sam led him to sit on a bench secured to the jets hull and took the seat beside him, never removing his hand from Steves shoulder.

"You miss him, don't you?" Sam asked. Steve nodded but didn't speak, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall of the jet. Sam dropped his voice despite them being alone. "What actually happened, man? You never said. You told me about his parents, how the Winter Solider killed them, but you were kinda fuzzy on the details."

Steve sat back, resting his head on the wall of the jet with a sigh. Then he told Sam everything. All the things he hadn't wanted to relive when they first made it to Wakanda and that he'd been pushing down ever since. At last he recounted the final moments of the fight, the sight of Tony beneath him, arms raised to block a blow that Steve was ready to deliver. Then dropping his shield and walking away. "I don't even know how he got back to the US." Steve finished, resting his elbows on his knees and suspending his head in his hands.

Sam seemed to consider for a moment before he spoke.

"It took him two days. The suit was almost completely disabled. He had to repair it in the base before he got back."

Steve raised his head and narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"How do you know that?"

"T'Challa."

Steve waited for Sam to elaborate but no extra information was forthcoming for a few long minutes.

Sam sighed. "T'Challa was nearby you know. He was the one that brought Zemo in, revealed the plan and his involvement. You were so busy fighting he would have escaped. But T'Challa had followed you. It was only when he got back with Zemo that he realised Tony was missing. Few hours later, he'd managed to get a signal through to say he was stranded in Siberia due to a 'catastrophic system failure' in his suit."

Steves head shot up at that, the realisation that even after all that had happened, Tony had still been protecting him.

Sam saw Steves look and a shadow of a grin crossed his face.

"Yeah, I know. He could have thrown you under the bus there, big time. Given what you've just told me, I'm surprised he didn't to be honest."

Sam slapped his hands to his knees and stood.

"Just so you know, I'm not here for you this time. I said some things to Tony when he came to see us on the Raft, things I regret. I'm here to help him. I'm starting to realise he's not the bad guy in what happened to us; and I don't blame you either, but I've got some amends to make to the guy. Need to make sure he stays alive long enough for me to say my piece." Sam started to walk away before he tossed a final few words over his shoulder.

"Maybe this is a good time for you to figure out why you're here? Because you want to make sure the armour doesn't get into the wrong hands? Or because you want to save him? 'Cause I have no doubt whoever's got him is going to make us choose. And I'm here to help Tony."

With that Sam left, joining Clint in the cockpit and staring out the window, clearly enjoying the sight of the sky and clouds around them.


	6. Day 2 - 1pm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds some small comfort during his ordeal, while Rhodey and the team make some progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!!!  
> So, I haven't posted to this story for soooooo long and I'm sorry for that. I've been incredibly busy in a new job and have had a lot of stuff go arse over tit in my personal life so writing has had to go on the back burner.  
> I am back now and I'm working on this again so I'll try to get things finished as fast as I can!  
> Thanks to anyone who comes back and carries on reading! I appreciate every read, kudos and comment.  
> MiM  
> XXX

'Whoa. This is weird.' Tony thought to himself. The feel of magic was indescribable, intangible, and yet utterly recognisable, and he knew exactly where he was.

He was trapped in his own psyche.

He found himself seated in his Malibu Lab, except where once had been the glass wall to the staircase there was now a large window looking out through his eyes.

He could see what his body was seeing, but couldn't feel or affect anything that was going on around him. He heard, as though through a loud speaker, the words he read out to the camera and saw the knife being used to cut his skin. But he didn't feel it. However, he knew that eventually he'd be back in control again, and when he was, that cut was gonna sting like a son-of-a-bitch.

He watched as his body walked down dank corridors, following the guy in the white mask that had sliced across his chest only moments before. He was led into a small room with no windows and took a seat on a small plastic chair in the centre. Then the door was closed and he was left alone.

With no power over his body, Tony couldn't affect an escape from the room he was locked in, so instead he turned his thoughts away from his body and into his mind. The key to him escaping was in his own head, and he needed to break this control before he could do a damn thing to help himself.

He looked around at the once familiar space of his Malibu lab and felt a stab of grief. This lab had never existed without the sound of Jarvis' voice echoing around the walls as he helped, hindered and snarked his was through any of Tonys requests.

"I miss you, J" he said to the empty space…and then whipped his head up at the familiar voice that replied.

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, Sir, why would you miss me? I'm right here."

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You're here?"

"Obviously."

Tony stood and began to pace as he spoke to the oh so familiar voice around him..

"What do you know of what's going on?"

"Everything you know sir, I am a figment of your own mind after all."

Tony smiled "of course you are"

He sat back in the roller chair and pushed himself away from a desk, enjoying the sensation of freewheeling for just a moment.

"So, we're trapped, by magic, somewhere in my mind, being held to ransom by some person or persons unknown."

"That sounds mostly accurate, sir."

"Mostly?"

"Well, we have seen at least one of the people."

The holotable in front of him burst to life with a rendering of the man who had visited him briefly during his stint on the water table.

"Oh yeah, short, blonde and creepy. I remember him. Run facial recogni…." Tony tailed off as he remembered where he was, with no access to any network to run any database searches. Jarvis, however, had never ceased to amaze Tony, as a man, an AI or as a figment of his imagination, and he quickly spoke up.

"Found him, sir."

The holotable projected what looked like the inside of a brown SHIELD file folder, with a picture of the man paper clipped to the top left corner and a brief Bio.

"How the…."

"Nothing is ever truly deleted from the human mind, sir. You simply need the correct equipment to access it. And, if I may be so bold, I am the best possible equipment for the task."

Tony smiled.

"Damn right you are, J. So run it by me, what do we know."

Tony could have read the text in front of him, but he wanted to wring what little joy he could from his present situation, and that joy came from having his original AI back in his old lab once again.

"Name of Dr Christian Maddox. Aged 56, was a neurologist at a small county hospital in the United States before the deaths of his two children at the Creeksburg Bombing six years ago. His wife left him shortly after and he resigned his job, defaulted on his mortgage and was arrested for a DUI the following month. After his release from police holding he was not seen again until his name appeared on one of the files uploaded by Natasha Romanoff following the collapse of SHIELD."

"So, tragic backstory, emotionally vulnerable and recruited by HYDRA. Sounds like a familiar story"

"Indeed, sir."

"The question is, what was he doing that made him of interest to them?" Jarvis was silent for a moment before he answered.

"I'm sorry, sir. That information was not contained on any file you have viewed."

"Damn."

 

*****

"Colonel Rhodes!"

Rhodey startled out of his focus on the video footage, looking for any tiny detail that could reveal where Tony was being held, at the sound of Visions shout. Seconds later, Vision entered the room at what, for a human at least, would have been a run.

"I believe I have found the source of the transmission, sir."

Rhodey straightened in his seat.

"It was incredibly heavily encrypted and streamed through multiple different servers but Friday was able to trace it to the town Puente Antiguo, New Mexico."

"Wait. Isn't that where Thor landed when he was banished? Where that huge robot destroyed most of the town?"

"Correct. Shield stopped monitoring the place after the attack on New York as it seemed unnecessary to continue to focus their re..."

"Who the hell cares!" interrupted Banner, striding into the room. "Just tell us what you know."

"Apologies, Dr Banner. The transmission came from what appears to be a small warehouse complex just outside of the town. There is no airfield near by, however one of the aircraft I tracked into South America flew directly over the town. Given the sophistication of their attack on the Tower it's not unreasonable to assume they could have airdropped and allowed the plane to continue as a decoy."

"Well, it's worth checking out. Nat, you and Hill prep the jet."

Nat, who had been stood in the doorway for most of Visions report, nodded once before speaking.

"What about you?"

"We have orders not to act using Avengers tech without UN approval. So we take Tonys jet, get close, quietly, to check the intel and confirm Tonys there. If he is, we go in."

"Should we bring in Rogers and the others?"

"Damn it." Rhodey sighed, clearly torn between wanting to keep Captain America as far from his buddy as possible and wanting the extra manpower in case things got hairy. "Vision. How confident are you that broadcast came from within the US?"

"Friday?" Vision asked the ceiling.

"We are 92.3% sure that the signal originated somewhere within the continental US, Colonel."

"Fine, then yes. Bring Rogers and the others in. Everyone, be ready to depart in 10 minutes."


	7. Day 2 - 6pm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets moving, and gains a stowaway!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to make up for not posting for ages by giving you 2 updates in 2 days!!  
> Also, I introduce a much loved character in this chapter and I'm dead nervous about it. I'm concerned the characterization is a bit off so please feel free to give some constructive criticism if you think I could improve.  
> You'll know it when you see it!!  
> MiM

Steve was feeling lost. Sams words had cut him pretty deeply, though he'd tried not to let it show. Of course he was doing this for Tony! If the choice came; Tony or the armour, he'd pick Tony without hesitation.

They'd been friends.

That friendship may have ended with a brutal fight, but it didn't lessen the affection Steve had for the man.

If he was being honest with himself, there had always been the potential for something more than friendship between them. Had it not been for one very big obstacle.

Steve had been in love with Bucky for most of his life. He'd never acted on it. Never once let on that he felt that way, but it had always been there. A low simmering in the back of his mind.

Then Bucky had fallen, Steve had been frozen, and a whole new world had appeared when he next opened his eyes.

To begin with, he really hadn't liked Tony. Too crass, reckless and arrogant. But his brilliance had shone through quickly and Steve had begun to appreciate the mans razor sharp intellect, not to mention his handsome features. But every stolen glance had felt like a betrayal to Buckys memory and so he had pushed those feelings down and ignored them.

When Shield fell and the Winter Solider was revealed to be Bucky he began his own personal crusade. The idea of his best friend being tortured by Hydra made him shake with rage. So Steve set out to save him.

It was only when they were reunited he realised how very different things were. The simmer was gone.

They had both changed so much, and the feelings he'd once had for Bucky had shifted to what they always were destined to be; brotherly love.

Everything had been too complicated after their escape to Wakanda for him to spend much time analysing his feelings, but Sams words triggered an awareness in Steve. The way his heart dropped every time he looked at the phone and saw no messages. How his stomach had clenched on seeing Tony in danger and being unable to help. The memory of every forbidden glance, every guilty dream. And, there it was, the simmer in the back of his mind, a feeling that he once associated only with Bucky; now it was the thought of Tony that sent it fizzing through his veins.

Not love, not yet, but desire. Need.

Steve wanted Tony.

But first, he'd have to save him.

Steve was startled out of his thoughts by a call from the cockpit.

"Steve, transmission incoming." Clint called.

Sam was already stood behind Clint, staring out at the sky as though feeling free for the first time in years. Steve stepped in to the other side just as Clint accepted the transmission.

"Barton, Wilson….Rogers" Colonel Rhodes gave a nod with each name, the pause before greeting Steve making it clear that he was still not happy he was speaking with the man who had so hurt his best friend.

"Colonel? What's happened?" Sam asked, his relationship with the colonel having been the closest before the 'Civil War'.

"Vision and Friday believe they have found the source of the transmission. It's Puente Antiguo, New Mexico."

Clint raised a brow and began to speak, but Rhodes cut him off.

"Yes, where Thor came down a few years ago. I've sent you the coordinates. There's no SHIELD presence in the town any more as far as we know, but you'll still need to come down in stealth mode. We're prepping for take-off now, should make it there in just over 2 hours. We need to do some recon in the area but we'll let you know what the situation is once we're down. Barton, do you have the coordinates?"

"Got 'em. We're looking at more than 5 hours, maybe 4 and a half if I push it hard."

"No need to push, we should be able to handle it. Hopefully I'll be calling you back before you even hit US airspace. Then you can just turn around and fly back to Wakanda and its lovely protective forcefield."

Rhodey signed off without another word, making Clint huff and start muttering under his breath. Sam looked forlorn at the lack of friendliness in his former buddy, but quickly shoved it aside in favour of reviewing the flight path and checking the stealth systems with Clint.

Once again, Steve was left to his own devices as he moved to the back of the plane and retook his seat.

He knew he had a lot of friendships to rebuild. Maybe this was the catalyst he'd needed to get off his ass and do what has to be done.

*****

"Bit abrupt there, don’t you think?" Natasha asked, as they boarded the jet side by side. Rhodey sighed.

"Maybe."

"I know how you feel about them right now, but hey, you forgave me my part in all this shit, maybe you need to cut them some slack."

"Nat, I forgave you because you didn't beat Tony to a bloody pulp and leave him freezing in Siberia. You didn't look at Tony while he was asking for help and say 'being your friend is why Rhodey has a broken back'. You didn't look my best friend in the eye while he was admitting he made a mistake and say 'well that's a first' despite the fact that Tony has always, always owned up to his mistakes and tried to do better. So no, I won't be cutting them any slack. Not for a long damn time." Rhodey dropped heavily into his seat and began to buckle up for the flight.

Natasha sighed as she did the same.

Maria Hill was in the pilot's seat, with Vision and Bruce sat opposite Rhodey and Nat. The scientist sent the spy a small, tentative smile, and to Rhodey's shock, she returned it.

The jet lifted off and gained altitude quickly. A few minutes into the flight, Maria cursed.

"Fucking little shit." she smashed her hand onto the rear door release and it began to open. "Vision, get out there and bring our stowaway inside would you."

Only Bruce looked surprised, as Nat and Rhodey dropped their heads into their hands. A few seconds later, Vision floated back through the hatch with a disgruntled looking Spider-Man in his arms, bridal style.

"Pete, what the hell!!" Rhodey demanded, unbuckling as the doors closed once again and they reached cruising altitude.

"Mr Stark is in trouble and I knew you wouldn't let me come if I asked so I kinda webbed myself to the jet as you took off." Peter rushed out in a single breath, practically leaping out of Visions grip.

Rhodey looked back to the rest of the team only to see Nat quickly hide a smile and Vision looking fond, or as fond as the android could look anyway.

"Please can I stay Mr Rhodey, Colonel, Sir? I just want to help Mr Stark. I promise to do everything you say and I won't get into any trouble or anything."

Rhodey couldn't help it, he chuckled.

"Damn. You're just like he was when we met. Always looking for trouble, always finding it. You can come. But you're staying on perimeter duty only. Non-engagement, do you understand?"

Peter jumped into an odd, almost-but-not-quite salute as he nodded and stumbled over his promise and thanks. Then he clapped eyes on Bruce and practically bounded over to him, expressing his admiration of his work with gamma radiation and the coolness of the Hulk. Bruce looked momentarily surprised until Pete took off his mask and sat at his side, babbling about some of the experiments he and Tony had been doing over the last few months. Soon Bruce was engaged in the conversation and they continued to chat as the others moved towards the cockpit.

The three of them stood around Marias chair as she made small adjustments to the flight path and made sure all stealth measures were engaged.

"Have I just done something incredibly stupid?"

"Rhodey, Pete loves Stark. He's the closest thing that boy has to a father figure. Do you really think you could keep him away if you tried? He'd probably web himself to a passenger plane if we left him behind. He's best here, with us. It's not ideal, but he's a strong kid and quick on his feet. He'll do fine." Maria said with a soft smile over her shoulder at the young man, despite her earlier description of him being a 'fucking little shit'. Rhodey turned to Vision.

"I agree with Miss Hill. The boy would just find some other way to involve himself. At least with us he has a safety net. And we shouldn't underestimate him. He's talented with a unique set of gifts. We may be glad of his presence before this is over."

Nat just smiled and nodded. But that was enough.

Satisfied that he had done the right thing, Rhodey moved back to his seat and let his head fall back against the bulkhead. Vision and Nat both moved over to the other side of the plane to talk with Bruce and Peter, who were now discussing the science behind Pete's web fluid.

He needed a few minutes to think and get his head right before he could brief the newly extended team on his plan.


	8. Day 2 - 8pm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rescue attempt goes awry.

The team were 20 minutes out from Puente Antiguo when Rhodey called them all around the small holotable in the jet.

  
"Friday, you ready."

  
"Here, Colonel Rhodes."

  
"Great, bring up the visuals." A warehouse complex was projected onto the table.

  
"Vis and Friday pinpointed the signal to this block of warehouses," he said, pointing to a cluster of 6 warehouses in the north eastern corner of the complex. "They couldn't narrow it down further than that so we'll have to sweep each one. This place was abandoned by SHIELD following the battle of New York and Jane Fosters research unit was relocated. No other companies or groups are supposed to be here so that should mean civilian interference won't be an issue. There has been no sign of activity that we have been able to pinpoint through satellite footage, however there are some weird intermittent heat and electronic signals emanating from the area so we're pretty sure there's something to be seen here. Hill, you and Vis take the eastern three, Nat and I will take the three to the west. Bruce, you stay on the jet and keep in communication with both teams, and notify us of any movement outside the complex; Friday will bring up heat detecting satellites to help. Parker. You set yourself up on the corner of this building," Rhodey indicated a warehouse nearby that was not one of the target six "and look for anything that seems out of place. We know these guys have the tech to neutralise heat sensing equipment so if they use it you'll be our outside eyes. You are not to engage unless called in, understood?"

Peter nodded, pleased to have been given something to do other than stay on the jet like a good boy.

  
"Great. Anyone have any thoughts now's the time to share them?"

  
The team simply observed the warehouse projection in silence.

  
"Right, let's get this bird down."

  
Hill returned to the jets controls and started making adjustments to land. In stealth mode they couldn't be seen by satellite or by eye, but a huge dust storm would be noticeable if she let the autopilot land. Fortunately, Maria was a fantastic pilot and Tony kept some of the best, most intuitive tech for himself. She was able to drop the jet onto the ground with only a small dust cloud, one that could appear to have been caused by nothing other than a sudden gust of light wind. Maria set the jet down on the south western side of the complex. It was a long way from their target buildings, but was the area that gave them the most cover for their approach, so the distance was deemed worth it.

  
The team disembarked quickly and quietly, using the cover of the abandoned buidings to move through the site and towards their targets. Peter drew down his mask and crawled up the side wall of one of the smaller warehouses so he could observe the teams path of approach. Rhodey would have been too recognisable in the air, and the team wanted the element of surprise.  
In well-practiced partnership, the team split off into their pairs; each taking a different block of warehouses and beginning their sweep. For a few moments there was silence as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the unlit buildings.

  
A small chorus of "Clear" came through the earpieces as both pairs swept through offices and breakrooms before hitting the large open spaces of the actual warehouses themselves.  
For both pairs, their first target was clear. They moved into the second in almost perfect unison when Peters voice came over the comm.

  
"Oh oh oh, creepy nerdy looking dude with armed guard heading your way Miss Widow Ma'am."

  
"How many guards? And which warehouse?" came Nats reply.

  
"Three armed guards and one unarmed man, heading towards your warehouse three, Nat." Bruce confirmed quickly "They're not giving off heat signatures but they're radiating some kind of electromagnetic energy Friday has now adjusted to detect. There are a further 15 signatures radiating the same energy in that one warehouse. Ok, our man is now in the warehouse. So you've got 2 guys in what looks to be a break room right by the rear door, a group of 4 people in an office two doors down from there, new guy and his three goons have joined the others in the main warehouse space. There's 13 of them in that space, there are a couple dotted around the perimeter of the room but you mainly have two groups, 7 people to the immediate left of the main roller door and another 3 or 4 pretty much right in the centre."

  
"Ok, thanks Bruce. Notify us of any major changes in player locations while we get into position. Nat, Vis, you take the exit closest to you, we'll come though the main door, give them a bit of a surprise." Rhodey ordered, followed by three confirmations.

  
"What about me, Sir?" Pete asked, itching to get in the fight.

  
"Move closer but do not get on this building or the one next door. I want you in position to web up anyone who attempts to escape via my main entry point, but you are not to engage except to detain stragglers. Got it?"

  
"Got it, Mr Rhodey."

  
Peter couldn't see it, but that earned him a fond eye roll before Rhodey was completely back in the game. The kid reminded him more of Tony every second.

  
"We're in position Colonel Rhodes." Vision confirmed a few seconds later.

  
"Right. On my word….MOVE"

  
Rhodey and Hill blasted through the main door.

  
"Hands up, nobody move!" Rhodey yelled into the now open space. The answering hail of bullets was entirely anticipated but meant very little to Rhodey inside the suit. He quickly darted the first 7 men and women, knocking them unconscious almost instantly. Maria took down a few more from her covered position by the entry door, and Rhodey could hear Vis and Nat clearing their designated space with non-lethal force.

  
The 'creepy, nerdy looking dude' was Rhodeys main interest, as it's usually the ones with the armed guard that have the most information to share. When he spotted the man, however, he had a sudden feeling of dread. He was stood perfectly still in the centre of the room, just watching the fire fight going on around him. He didn't even flinch when the last of the goons went down, with a perfectly aimed shot from Maria, and Rhodey began striding towards him. It was only when he got within a few paces that Rhodey realised why. The guy was a hologram.  
Rhodey raised his arms and charged weapons anyway.

  
"Who are you? And where is Tony Stark?"

  
"Who I am is of no consequence, and Tony? Well, thanks to you, Tony is on his way home." The hologram flickered away as a burst of static crackled over the comm.

  
"Whoa, guys, someone is taking the jet. Someone is taking the….."

  
Rhodey and Hill ran outside to see Peter sprinting across rooftops towards their landing site. Nat and Vision skidded to a stop beside them seconds later.

  
"Peter, leave it!!!" Nat screamed into the comm as they watched Spider-Man trying to reach the ascending plane with his webs. He managed to catch the tail and was braced against the side of a warehouse trying t hold the aircraft back, but even his strength would not hold a jet for more than a few seconds. Either his webbing would break or he'd be carried away with the plane.

  
"Peter!!! Let go!!!" The team was yelling, as they ran to try and reach him. Their calls were too late, and Peter was lifted out of the sky. Vision and Rhodey took off together, flying as fast as they could to reach Peter, who was struggling and flailing as he was rapidly dragged upwards.

  
The web snapped, and Peter began to fall. Rhodey caught him. And the pair, along with Vision flew back to Maria and Nat.

  
"They've got Dr Banner." Peter panted, trying to get his breath back and Rhodey set him down on his feet again.

  
"No, they haven't" Nat said, glancing over Peters shoulder to where Bruce was walking towards them on slightly unsteady legs.

  
He was breathing deliberately slowly and carefully as he moved towards them, and his hands and face were tinged with green.

  
"Bruce, you good?" Rhodey called, pulling Peter behind him and stepping slightly in front of the others.

  
Bruce fell to his knees several feet away, just as Nat pushed passed Rhodey and rushed to his side. She took his hands in hers and starting speaking soft words the others couldn't hear. Slowly the green faded from Bruce's skin and he slumped forward, his head on Nat's shoulder. Rhodey breathed a small sigh of relief and moved towards the pair, just as several explosions burst to life around them and the ground began to give way beneath their feet.


	9. Day 2 - 10pm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two teams finally come face to face and there's some stuff to be gotten off a few chests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know my characterisation of Nat is way off from how she ended Civil War.  
> Please consider this an AU where she actually likes and respects Tony considering all she watched him go through in IM2 and she stayed with him rather than going off with Rogers.  
> Also, am I the only one who really hated Rhodey and Steves interactions in Infinity War? The guy almost killed your best friend, who is now missing, and you give him a bloody hug!!!???  
> Yeah, I wasn't feelin' that at all!!!!
> 
> I make a lot of people do a lot of ranting in this chapter but hopefully it gets a few things out in the open.

Tony had spent the last… however long, testing the strength of the barriers in his mind.

He tried using the tools in his lab to smash through the walls, but before he could ever make contact the tool would disappear. He'd lost 3 sledgehammers (left over from building his miniaturised particle accelerator), one pick axe (from that time he'd dropped a microchip down the drain by accident and needed to destroy half his floor to reach the filter it was trapped in), 5 wrenches and one tyre iron before he'd stopped. He'd tested different parts of the walls, even tried smashing the 'glass' through which he was witnessing his experience, but nothing would make contact. He could touch the walls, but only a light brush. As soon as he tried to exert any force, the walls pushed back and he'd be knocked off his feet.

He'd just given up on the idea of breaking down the psychic walls with brute force when someone entered the room in which his physical body was seated.

It was a woman. In her thirties with long black hair and skin liked someone had spilled dark oil paints all over her.

"Very poetic, Sir."

"Quiet, J, I'm trying to watch."

They had discovered fairly early on in their shared confinement that Tony didn't need to speak out loud for Jarvis to hear him, but that Jarvis needed to speak out loud in order to be heard.

The woman moved closer and Tony was able to see her eyes. They glowed a vivid, toxic green colour, and he knew instantly that she was who he had to thank for his current predicament.

She stood in front of Tonys body and raised her hands to his temples. The lab glowed the same toxic green and Tony crumpled to the floor in agony, feeling as though needles were being stabbed into every inch of his body simultaneously. After a few seconds, the pain subsided, but Tony continued to lie panting on the floor.

Tony watched from his foetal position on the floor as his body meekly followed the woman out of the room, back down the dank corridor, past the room in which he'd recorded his own ransom video, and up a dimly lit staircase. The light when he reached the top was so bright he could barely keep his eyes open, but he adjusted quickly and could soon tell he was definitely not in New York anymore.

He crossed a small area of bright desert before a vary familiar aircraft came into view.

"That's my plane" he tried to yell, realising that if his plane was here so must some of his people be. Only Hill or Rhodey had the necessary authorisations to fly the state-of-the-art craft, while Nat, Pep, Happy and Vision could programme and enable FRIDAY to run the auto pilot. If any one of those people were here, he needed to get to them and help them.

The feeling of protectiveness, the desire to take care of his friends, his family overtook him, and for a brief moment his body's steps faltered.

The lab floor swayed beneath Tonys feet before stabilising and once again his body was continuing its march towards the plane.

He watched as he and his detail were all seated, and a smug smile crossed his lips knowing they would never be able to fly the thing. That was until witch lady once again raised her hands to his temples and issued him with a command Tony couldn't hear through his own cries of pain.

He didn't need to hear it to guess what it was though, as only seconds later he heard his own voice call out for FRIDAY to get him home.

The loading ramp closed and the plane lifted off before the latest round of excruciating agony had finished sending shockwaves through his mental body and he slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness once again.

*****

"Steve, you better come see this." Clint called from the cockpit as they descended to the rendezvous coordinates in Puente Antiguo.

Steve moved to the front of the jet to see a scene of total devastation. The entire warehouse complex had fallen into a huge crater, as though the ground beneath it had simply given way. There were fire and rescue teams running back and forwards with hoses trying to put out fires and scan for survivors.

The jet was still in stealth mode, and not yet low enough to disturb the air at ground level. Clint hovered in place as the three men took in the scene beneath them. A sudden crackle on the comms won their attention.

"Clin…..ou..opy? It's..at, can..ou..ear.me?"

"Let me see if I can focus this a bit. I recognise the frequency." Clint said, as he fiddled with dials and wires beneath the radio console.

"Clint do you copy? It's Nat, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah I hear you, Nat. You ok?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, we're ok. We had to book it out of there though. We're about three miles down the road in an abandoned diner. Can you come to us?"

"Sure, on our way."

They located the diner in less than five minutes and set down in the convenient rear car park, out of sight of the road and backed onto by nothing but desert. The team disembarked, each of them feeling more than a little trepidation at coming face to face with their old team mates again.

It was Steve who led the way, Clint and Sam right behind him, as they pushed through the unlocked diner door.

Vision was the only one who looked unscathed. Bruce was asleep, curled up in a corner on a bench seat looking filthy and slightly green but mostly ok. Hill was having an arm bandaged by Rhodey, who had a gash across his forehead, while Nat was trying to clean a cut above Spider-Man's eye.

The sound of the door slamming shut made everyone look up, and Spider-Man tugged his mask back on.

No one moved for a few moments until Nat moved towards them and pulled Steve into a brief hug, offering the same to Sam and a slightly longer, tighter one for Clint.

Vision moved too, offering a handshake to the three men. Hill smiled and waved with her good hand, but Spider-Man and Rhodes stayed where they were.

Sam spoke up.

"Hey, want me to take a look at that?" he gestured to the cut on Rhodey's head, moving forward and lifting the first aid kit he had thought to bring with him.

"Sure." Rhodey sat himself down on a bench, after securing Hills arm in its sling.

Steve moved towards Spider-Man, but the kid quickly stood up and stepped back away from him. Steve stopped in his tracks. He gestured to the mask.

"You don't need that in here kid. You should let Nat finish with your eye".

Steve watched as Spidey turned his head towards Rhodey, who shrugged and said "Your call, kid. If you wanna keep it on we can stick with Avenger names while they're around."

Steve feels himself puff up but before he can say that 'they are not the enemy' Clint speaks.

"What, Tony Stark can know who the kid is but actual heroes don't get let in on the big secret?" Clint looks like he's about to say more but he's prevented from doing so by Spider-Man shooting a ball of webbing right at his groin and Rhodey standing with a look of murder in his eyes. It's Nat's reaction that truly shuts him up, however, as she slaps him across the face with a resounding smack. Her bright red handprint on his cheek and the tears in Clints eyes are a sure fire sign that she didn't hold anything back in that slap.

"You're a fucking moron, Clint," the archer tries to speak but Nat raises her hand and he quickly snaps his mouth shut "actual heroes???? ACTUAL FUCKING HEROES? Like Stark is some kind of wannabe hero? Like he hasn't flown god damn nuclear weapons into space? Fought aliens and HYDRA and AIM and built the fucking bow on your damn back and taken actual bullets for us?"

Clint starts to speak and this time he doesn't stop.

"I've been separated from my kids because of him!!!" he snarls.

Nat grabs him by the collar of his suit and slams him against the nearest wall. The rest of the group, knowing better than to get in Nats way when she's pissed, just watch.

"No, you got separated from your wife and kids because you chose to follow Cap. Your choice!! Not Tonys."

"I wouldn't have had to if he hadn't pushed the Accords"

"What? You mean the United Nations ratified rulings of 117 countries? You somehow think Stark had anything to do with that other than 'shit guys they're talking about arresting us if we don't agree to something like this so lets play along and try to fix the system from the inside'. I'll say it again. You're a FUCKING MORON. I promised Stark and Laura that I wouldn't tell you any of this in case it brought you charging back to the US and into trouble but you are such an ungrateful dipshit you need a fucking reality check."

Nat stepped away from Clint, and he stepped away from the wall, watching while Nat tried to wrestle back her control. Her eyes landed on Bruce and she started to control her breathing in much the way as she helped him do earlier.

"The farm was attacked. Some anti-Avengers folk tracked them down and went after them. Tony had been keeping eyes on the place and he managed to get there and pull them out. They've been staying in Starks mansion ever since. Fed, clothed and housed out of his own pocket to protect them. Because he doesn't want to see innocent people being caught in any crossfire. Laura has been working at one of the free clinics Stark set up, helping to counsel young people who were hurt during the attack on New York. He's even helping her get her doctorate in Child Psychology. Your kids call him 'Uncle Tony' and Laura calls him her 'adopted idiot brother'. He's known where you were the whole time and he's given Laura access to her own fucking satellite so she can feel as though she can see you. They sing that damn thing a lullaby every night to say good night to you."

With every word, Clint visibly deflated, but Nat wasn't finished. She turned on Sam.

"You know all the patients you left behind, family? Tonys taken care of every one of them. Found new counsellors, set up new clinics, put a protection detail on your grandma when she refused to move out of her flat. And you talk about being actual fucking heroes. None of you have the slightest clue who Tony Stark is. So how about instead of having a go at a kid who trusts Tony over people who threw a fucking tanker on him last time they met," she glares at Steve this time "you earn some fucking trust from him instead."

The silence after Nat rant is broken seconds later by Spider-Man whooping!

"Yeah!!! You tell 'em, ma'am!"

Nat quirks a smile in his direction and heads back to him, grabbing some items from the first aid kit and pulling him into a small office. But not before giving Clint another, much softer, smack on the back of the head.

Rhodey sat back down and snatched the gauze from Sams fingers, choosing to mop up his own wound instead. Sam merely stood looking stunned.

"Is that true?" Clint whispered, the sound barely carrying across from where he had sunk to the floor with his back against the wall.

"What? You mean that Tony has taken care of all the shit you've left behind? Of course it's true. He's been doing it since the day you assholes arrived in his life, cleaning up your messes. After New York, when you guys swanned off to do whatever it is you do, Tony funded clean-up efforts, free clinics, hospital equipment, emergency housing. He designed whole new ways of reinforcing buildings and rather than patent it to make money, he offered free training to every architect, builder, planner he could reach so they could use his ideas to make buildings stronger and safer. He's donated self-contained arc reactors as power for every hospital in the country, designed new emergency evacuation plans for every town or city. He hasn't fucking slept a full night since the sky burst open and spewed fucking aliens at us, he's been working so hard to keep people safe. And all you guys ever think of Tony is that he's a walking ego in a flashy suit who just inherited all his money. Tony makes your old buddy Howard look like a Neaderthal. He employs more than 7 million people worldwide. He has responsibilities way beyond what any of you can even imagine."

Rhodey didn't raise his voice, but each new word was spat with more and more venom.

"He's made mistakes in his life, everyone does. And being who he is means his mistakes get thrown in his face every day. I've been his friend for almost 25 years. No one, not Obie and the Ten rings , not Ivan, not Killian, not Loki and aliens or Hulk or Hydra, no one has ever come so close to killing him as you did Rogers. So believe me when I say, once we find him, any of you so much as breath in his direction, I will kill you."

Rhodey once again stood from the table, wobbling very slightly from the blood loss. Sam reached a hand out to steady him, but was almost physically repelled by the glare he got in return. The whirring of the suits mechanics faded as he strode over to the office where Nat was treating Spider-Man and stepped inside.

Hill was still seated on the small table she'd been on since their arrival, with Vision at her shoulder.

"Just so you know, I might not be able to kill you if you hurt Tony again, but I'll sure as hell help hide the bodies" she said with a shrug of her uninjured arm.

Vision smiled benignly, but it was clear that there was a slight hint of malice behind the gesture.

Sam and Steve just nodded at them both and moved over to Clint. They dropped to the floor on either side of the archer, who still had his head in his hands following the revelation of all his family had been through in his absence.

Nat was right, they were all morons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need some help here folks.  
> I have three different possible ways for this story to go. Now I know most of you are here for Stony, but I'm really struggling to bring them to a successful resolution that doesn't feel really forced and like Tony is compromising himself to much to be with Steve (who even in my head is an unapologetic asshole). However, I have been toying with the idea of making the stony stuff more one-sided and throwing either some IronStrange in there (my personal new fave since infinty war) or *gasp* some WinterIron (the gaasp is because I am not a WinterIon shipper usually but this just kinda wants to write itself)  
> Any opinions? Or advice? Other than 'just get writing woman!!'


End file.
